Ciudad Victoria sits at an elevation of about 900’ but just to the west the hills blend into mountains. Our day starts out 9C at about 9 AM. The planned route will take us on Hwy 126, by-passing a section of Hwy 110, which looks on the map as a really squiggly line, with a few switch-backs thrown in. We climb up the mountains in the morning mist and rain, trying to get a view of what should be spectacular…if only we could see it.
Up we climb to about 3600’ and the mountains open up into a wide, mostly flat valley. As we descend into the valley, we enter whole new weather system, sunny and warmer at about 18C.
Entering a tunnel
Down into the valley. Sunshine ahead!
There doesn’t seem to be much in the way of industry or farming here. In some spots, there are roadside vendors selling dried snake skins and some sort of animal skins. Who would ever buy this stuff is beyond me.
Nice view of some flat-topped mesas.
We are surrounded by mountains.
By 10:45 AM we are climbing back up towards 3600’ again and the temp drops down to 12C. We stop at a Pemex to fill up at 7.7 pesos per liter, equivalent to about 68 cents Canadian. Fuel mileage is holding at 7.1 US mpg, which we consider very good considering the mountain climbs we have done.
We turn onto Hwy 57 about 120 km from San Luis Potosi, our first 4 lane divided highway since being in Mexico. In San Luis Potosi,, we take the north east ring road, by-passing the city centre, to get to our campground in Mexquitic. This road is terrible…tope after tope of various shapes and sizes. At times we would hit topes that were spaced exactly the length of our wheelbase. You have to come to a near stop and crawl over the topes. It makes for very slow progress. Combined with the ups of the topes, there are potholes too. By the time we are able to turn off the ring road and onto Hwy 49, we have just about had it.
As we approach the campground, we see that the gates are closed but there is a sign that say “abierto” or open that seems to point down the road. We spy a lane that looks to lead to the rear of the property and start down. There is big tree right in the middle of the lane and I choose the left side. Bev is concerned that it isn’t wide enough but I know we can make. We didn’t. It was wide enough but not high enough. We hear scraping and crunching sounds from above, as a low hanging limb takes its toll.
When we get into the campground, we find that there is extensive damage. Our new awning material is scratch and scraped, the rear awning arm has been ripped right out of the roller. The rear spring assembly is hanging out. The roller has a big dent in it. The vent cover for the refrigerator is bashed in. The rubber roof covering is ripped just about from the front to the rear, all along the right edge. What a disaster! I am livid and let the campground owner know it too. Now it is simply a matter of damage control to get things back operational so we can continue our trip. There is no such thing as a RV repair shop in Mexico.
To start the repairs, we need the bracket that holds to rear awning arm to the RV. I go one way, following our path of destruction, while Pedro, the park owner, goes the other. I return empty-handed but Pedro, luckily returns with the missing and crucial piece. Pedro removes the spring assembly and walks off somewhere while I start to repair the awning arm. He returns 15 minutes later with the spring assembly all straightened out. I am able to get the spring re-installed and riveted in place. At least the awning is now useable.
Now I address the vent cover. It is in pretty bad shape and I think the only solution is to duct tape the pieces together but Pedro has different ideas. With my limited Spanish and his non-existent English, he directs me to a forlorn-looking house trailer, with flat tires. I somewhat understand that the trailer owner has not paid for the rental and owes Pedro, so I guess he is claiming ownership based on some lien. There is a very good condition vent cover on the roof that is exactly the same as mine and he says take it. I don’t argue.
The chimney part of my fridge vent is broken in several places and the mounting points to attach to cover are broken. Pedro comes up on the roof to take a look and says something like “Awh-ha PVC” and walks off to his little workshop. He returns with plumbing PVC cement and primer, along with thin aluminum wire. I am able to “sew” and glue the pieces all back together into a function chimney. By this time, it is getting dark so all work stops for the day.
I should have taken pictures of all this but it wasn't even on my mind. I was just too upset and exhausted from the efforts to get things fixed. No doubt some of the exhaustion was due to the altitude. I am not acclimated to working at 6000'.
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